The Stars Are Fading
by AntiMusicMan
Summary: A collection of KH and KH2 drabbles, super-short one-shots. Chapter 22: Leaves
1. Computer Games

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2, Disney, Final Fantasy, etc.

**Rating:** G  
**Character: **Roxas  
**Time:** KH2  
**Topic:** Computer games  
**Word Count: **97

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

* * *

So my Twilight Town is just a program… a fantasy.

Am I being controlled, manipulated?

Are these thoughts mine, or am I programmed to think them?

Am I a program? Am I a set of numbers, a string of 1s and 0s? Am I math?  
Am I real? Is this really flesh, or merely an illusion, illustration? Am I science?

Do I have a genetic code? Code… so I am merely a computer program…

Then how do I exist outside? How am I a part of Sora?

Is this all just one big program? One big game?

* * *

well, what did ya'll think? Please read and review, and give suggestions for future drabbles!


	2. Yellow

**Disclaimer:** I still do not own anything I write about :P

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Goofy  
**Time:** KH  
**Topic: **Yellow  
**Word Count: **99

* * *

All the best things are yellow:

My hat an' pants are yellow. They're very comfy and stylish, if I do say so myself. Hyuck.

Cheese is yellow. And very tasty. Though, if it's too holey, then it's no good.

The Olympus medallion, symbol of strength, courage, and heroism, is yellow. And shiny.

Munny is yellow. Hyuck.

Sora's Keyblade is yellow; since it's the key to defeatin' the darkness, it's kinda important.

Papou fruit is yellow. Sora says it's a magical fruit that keeps friends together.

And Donald's beak is yellow…

Okay, so not all the best things are yellow.

* * *

I know it's not very Goofy-esque, but I came up with the last two lines in school and was trying to think of a way to incorporate it into a drabble during gym class. Again, any comments, reviews, suggestions, complaints, etc. are always appreciated.


	3. Rookies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Cloud nor the Olympus Coliseum...

**Rating:** G  
**Character: **Cloud  
**Time:** KH  
**Topic:** Rookies  
**Word Count:** 99

* * *

He was a winner.

He was master swordsman. He had no need to display his plethora of awards because his reputation preceded him. And he liked that faint glimmer of hope in his opponent's eye that he would suffocate like the blade he carried wrapped in bandages. Winning was more fun that way—when they thought they had a chance.

So why did these three rookies unnerve him? Why did the fiery passion in their eyes melt his cool stare? Why was he worried about their match—why was he hoping that they would somehow not have to fight?

* * *

Well, did I do the Master Swordsman justice? Please review and give suggestions -- that is what keeps this think tank running!


	4. Pudding

**Disclaimer:** Riku is not mine, nor is Sora or any other thing in this fic. Except for the pudding; that is mine.

**Rating: **G  
**Character:** Riku  
**Time:** KH  
**Topic:** Pudding  
**Word Count: **100

* * *

They always had the best snacks after they had been playing on the beach all day. Maybe it was the sugar they needed, or maybe it was because it was with his best friend.

His favorite snack of all time was pudding: dark chocolate. Sora's was always vanilla. Riku always thought vanilla was too plain. Sora always thought dark chocolate was too rich.

Riku had never noticed until now a weird irony: Sora's pudding was white, like Riku's hair; Riku's pudding was brown, like Sora's hair.

A chuckle escaped through Riku's usually reserved lips.

The magic of friendship and pudding.

* * *

This is NOT yaoi; they are best buds.


	5. Claws

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Simba, nor the creepy voice in the cave. Nor the cave itself, the jungle, or any other place in this fic. Squaresoft and/or Disney does/do.

**Rating: **K  
**Character:** Simba  
**Time:** KH1  
**Topic:** Claws  
**Word Count:** 105

* * *

Trying to kill his boredom, Simba roamed through the jungle, where he discovered a peculiar cave. He scratched the entrance and felt something strange, something intriguing. As he walked in, his paws no longer felt the softness of the grass but instead the fine, round grains of sand. His eyes came upon a drawing on the cave wall. They looked as if scratched by claws. Their simplicity reminded him of art from his distant past.

"The worlds have been connected."

Simba growled and bared his teeth and claws for battle; then he was engulfed swiftly by a bright light. He was in a town square.


	6. Puzzle

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts, y'all know that, sillies. Ansem is not mine. Though I do admire how he can keep such shiny silver hair...

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Ansem (the evil one from KH1)  
**Time: **pre-Kingdom Hearts  
**Topic:** Puzzle  
**Word Count:** 126

AN: this will make much more sense if you have played KH2 or understand Ansem's history prior to KH1

* * *

Searching.

Frantically.

He had looked in the Observatory.  
He had searched through the musty stacks of books in the dilapidated library.  
He even had journeyed outside to the sparse garden overgrown with weeds.

He couldn't finish the puzzle until he had all the pieces.

Depressed.

Agitated.

He sulked back into his study.  
He looked back at the portrait on the wall, of himself in a scientist's robe.  
His eyes fell back to near complete picture forming on his desk.

It wasn't a corner; it wasn't even in the middle.  
The abhorred gap was almost hidden in the top-left area. But the puzzle would have no worth if it was not 100 percent completed, 100 percent understood.

He had to find the key to that empty darkness.

* * *


	7. Lost

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it. Gosh.

**Rating:** K  
**Characters:** Sora, Donald, Goofy  
**Time: **KH1  
**Topic: **Lost  
**Word Count:** 173

* * *

"Okay, next stop is…" Sora said enthusiastically as he trailed his finger long the map. "Atlantica!"

He sat down in his cockpit seat alongside Donald. Donald didn't trust Goofy to help navigate, not that he trusted Sora much either.

Sora punched some buttons, moved a lever, and sat back, arms behind his head. Yawning, he managed to say before drifting off to sleep, "Wake me up when we get there."

And drifting he did. Along with the entire Gummi Ship. Donald was too busy trying to decipher the King's cryptic messages and honing new magic spells that he set the ship on autopilot. Sora was blissfully sleeping, and Goofy wasn't allowed to say anything about the controls.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

After about three hours, Sora woke up.

"So, are we there yet?"

Donald looked over his tomes questioningly. "Weren't you navigating?"

Sora looked confused, shocked, and then retorted, "I thought you were navigating!"

"I think we're lost, hyuck."

Donald merely slapped himself on the face. "Not again," he muttered to himself.


	8. Dreams

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these wonderful dreaming characters. Squaresoft/ Disney/ other people I don't remember do.

**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** too many to list  
**Time:** KH2  
**Theme: **Dreams  
**Word Count:** 149

* * *

Sora dreamed of being the best, even better than Riku.  
Kairi dreamed about her past.  
Goofy dreamed of a sunny, lulling meadow.  
Aerith dreamed of a world with no displacement.  
Naminé dreamed of a whole, forever connected world.  
Cloud dreamed to once again combat his darkness.  
Beast dreamed that his rose would never wilt.  
Tifa dreamed that her chase would end.

Scrooge McDuck dreamed for the perfect ice cream flavor.

Maleficent dreamed of finding her perfect castle.  
Scar dreamed of a Pride Lands barren.  
Sephiroth dreamed to vanquish that glimmer of light.  
DiZ dreamed for the worlds to remain apart.  
the Heartless dreamed of traveling to every world.  
Hades dreamed for the rise of the Underworld.  
Mickey dreamed for the future.  
Riku dreamed of one day having the heart of a champion, of Sora.

… … …

And as all the stars faded,  
And as they all once again reappeared

… they dreamed.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed my poetic drabble. I wrote during my camp, so sorry if it doesn't flow like I thought it should.

The "dreams" are split into two sections, divided by Scrooge McDuck his line is a chiasmus. All the dreams in the first section are echoed (usually oppositely) in the second block. For instance, Sora's corresponds to Riku's; Kairi to Mickey, Goofy to Hades, etc.


	9. Pollywog

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the wonders of Kingdom Hearts, though I did make up the man and the cool analogy in this drabble, so look out!

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Yuffie  
**Time:** pre-KH1  
**Theme:** Pollywog  
**Word Count: **129

* * *

Hop.

Hop. Hop.  
A slight squash in the wet grass. Hop, and a Pounce.

"Gotcha!"

The dark haired girl brimmed with excitement as she ran back to town. Too concerned with sharing the frog with her two best friends, she didn't notice the man on the road. And so they collided, and as she fell and screamed in surprise, she let go of her prize.

Hop. Hop. Ribbit. The fledging frog hopped back to his marshy home.

"Pollywog, no! Wait!" Yuffie cried as she scrambled to get off the man. It wasn't until she was around the corner that she remembered to yell, "Sorry, sir!"

The man could only chuckle, for as he watched Yuffie clamber and skip down the road, he swore that she had a little tail.

* * *

In case you missed it, the "cool analogy" is that Yuffie is in fact a "pollywog" herself; that she is in between development from childhood to adulthood.

And yes, this too was inspired at camp.


	10. Candle

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters. Period.

**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Mulan, Mushu  
**Time:** KH2  
**Theme: **Candle  
**Word Count:** 101

* * *

After everything that had happened, she had learned really only one thing: to count her blessings and be grateful every day.

For Sora, a free-spirited kid who reminded her to keep her dreams alive.

For Li Shang, a loyal and strong lover and leader.

For that little dragon, Mushu.

He was her little flame of hope, of clarity, in the darkness of doubt. But like any aid, he was only as good as she let him.

Mulan learned to not only be strong and grateful, but to accept others' help.

For a candle is no good without someone to hold it.

* * *

Thank you randomcat23 for the topic!  
I swear to everyone else that I am using your words, I've just been slow about writing/updating. But please don't stop sending me them!


	11. Dolphin

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything. And I never will. Are you happy now?

**Rating:** G  
**Characters:** Jane, Tarzan  
**Time:** ... whenever?  
**Theme:** Dolphin  
**Word Count: **113

* * *

"Okay, let's try this one more time," came the cheery voice of Jane, writing on the chalkboard.

D-O-L-P-H-I-N

She looked at Tarzan to see if there was any inkling of understanding. None.

"Perhaps if I …" she muttered to herself as she wrote another line.

DOL -- PHIN

"No, it needs…"

DOLL -- FIN

She bit her lip as she scanned the tent. Tarzan grew interested as Jane scurried about, grabbing and throwing, muttering and sighing and laughing.

She found the rag doll she sought as a visual aid. Meanwhile Tarzan had rummaged through Jane's outfits and was poorly wearing one.

But the only thing in Jane's mind was the two objects they each held.

A doll and a fan.

* * *

Okay, so I don't really follow the word count rule too closely. Sorry.

And in case I didn't make it evident enough, the doll and fan is a "pun" on DOLL -- FIN, which is a "pun" on dolphin. What a "punny" world we live in! (Get it, punny like funny!) I'm more cheesy than a cheeseburger.

I hope you enjoy. Sorry about taking forever for updates and the such. I just am everywhere but online this summer.


	12. Vegetable

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alice, the Cheshire Cat, flowers, the Queen of Hearts, Sora, or Wonderland. Or really anything for that matter.

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Alice  
**Time:** KH1  
**Theme:** Vegetable  
**Word Count: **100

* * *

Alice had been taught tea-time etiquette;  
the Mad Hatter and March Hare had seen an end to that.

Alice had been taught to trust leaders;  
the Queen of Hearts had instilled a fear forever.

The Cheshire Cat seemed harmless enough;  
now Alice winced anytime she spots a toothy grin.

Even the plants made no sense--  
singing, dancing, and even revealing treasure chests when struck by lightning.

Sitting in that golden cage, waiting for Sora to rescue her, Alice wished for simplicity.

She wanted life to be more like vegetables: she knew for a fact that they were always bad.

* * *

In case you missed it, the "lightning" reference is how you get the Lady Luck keyblade, I believe...


	13. Sword

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but creativity, and even that only in mere fleeting flights of fancy.

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Aladdin  
**Time:** between KH1 and KH2  
**Theme:** Sword  
**Word Count: **99

* * *

It glistened in the desert sun like an oasis.  
It curved smoothly, then sharply, like the rolling dunes.  
Its handle sparkled with Agrabah gold and Cave of Wonders jewels.

It was _perfect._

Aladdin wanted-- _needed_-- that blade. He knew that his life was incomplete without it.

It dazzled-- something much needed to impress Jasmine.  
It was well-forged-- something most aidful in slaying Heartless.

It was _expensive._

Aladdin sighed. He looked down to see Abu howling and gesticulating furtively.

"Abu, no!" He dropped to a whisper, "I could never steal it."

For inscribed were the words: Sword of Justice.


	14. Lamp Post

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Traverse Town, Kingdom Hearts, or the Heartless. But I did create this story, and thus own the magic of folklore.

**Rating: **G  
**Character:** …  
**Time:** pre-KH1  
**Theme:** Lamp post  
**Word Count:** 103

* * *

Traverse Town was a world of necessity—first created as the first world was consumed by Heartless.

The people sent here built everything to make it the eclectic safe haven it is today.  
Everything, except one:

The lamp post.

In the darkness that the world was born, its first travellers found it.

"Fate," many said. "Placed here to remind us that there is light in the deepest darkness."

Others insisted it was a reminder of their transient nature, a constant reminder of the ebb and flow of people into this world.

And thus the lamp post stayed, until no one could remember why.

* * *

AN: I don't even know if there is a particular lamp post to base this on... I honestly was sitting outside the South Dining Hall and mesmerized by the single lamp post on, surrounded by a tree, in the middle of a torrent. At 8:40am waiting for my friends to come for breakfast...


	15. Spike

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, nor their past. Square Co. does.

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Leon  
**Time:** pre-KH1  
**Theme: **Spike  
**Word Count:** 100

* * *

In the best years of his life lay the most traumatic experience.

He had a normal, fun-loving childhood: a group of miscreants, Yuffie, Cid, and Aerith, to wreak havoc with. And like any young boy, Squall had a pet.

A dog: Spike.

Spike and Squall were inseparable; Yuffie used to say that Squall was merely a dog who had learned to wear clothes and speak.

But one day Spike disappeared. Cid said he ran into the castle, through a door black as night.

And Squall became Leon:

His favorites shifted from dog to lion, from wooden sword to metallic gun.


	16. Break

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts 2, Twilight Town, nor their orginial characters. Talk to Square if you have any questions.

**Rating: **K  
**Characters:** Olette, Roxas, Hayner, Pence  
**Time: **KH2**  
Theme: **Break  
**Word Count:** 112

Thank you to ShadowRebirth37 for the word.

* * *

Olette was tidying up the clubhouse. She decided that some sea salt ice cream would be just the thing to refresh her, so she left and hung up a sign:

"BREAK"

Roxas walked by, and seeing the sign, immediately thought of his strange dreams. He needed to unlock their message and so continued onward.

Hayner passed and read the sign. "She must want us to help with cleaning," he muttered reluctantly as he grabbed a crate and smashed it.

Pence walked up later. He rolled his eyes and continued walking. _Like we need to be reminder that it's still summer._

Olette returned to still find no one around and one crate missing.

* * *

Sorry about being negligent on tagging who gave me the theme word... I've kinda been bad about losing the lists people send me. Sorry.


	17. Rough

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Destiny Islands nor Kairi. Still -- go figure?

**Rating: **K**  
Character: **Kairi**  
Time: **KH1**  
Theme: **Rough**  
Word Count:** 99

Thank you randomcat23 for the theme.

* * *

Times were rough. Kairi had lost her two best friends in a single night. She could hardly bring herself to go back to the island after that night.

Selphie finally persuaded her to go. The sea was calm, the sun bright, sky clear, but Kairi was battling a raging storm inside.

She wandered into their secret cave. She ran her fingers across the cave wall, feeling the rough surface where they had etched pictures.

Then she came across Sora's and her faces.

She laughed at the roughness of her face.

And a soft tear melted all the roughness away.

* * *

This drabble is based on my understanding of the game, in that Kairi is whisked away after Sora and Riku (and that those two "disappear" at the same time.)


	18. Ghost

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Tron, Sora, Space Paranoids, nor the website spliced below so that it doesn't disappear (apparently FanFiction doesn't like us displaying websites). I give credit where it's due.

**Location:** Space Paranoids  
**Character:** Tron, Sora  
**Time:** KH2  
**Theme:** Ghost  
**Word Count:** 102

AN: Ghost: n. a decker who assists a "physical entry team" by entering & controlling the computer of the target site. ( www.intercom. net/user/logan1/glossary. htm)and subsequently, "to ghost" means to be and act as a ghost.

Thanks to randomcat23 for the word.

* * *

"There's too many patrolling. We'll never make it across."

"Hey Tron," Sora said as he grinned, "If this is all just a computer, can't we just hack it and use some cheats?"

"If I could datastream for a few seconds, then I could go and ghost you in…" Tron mused aloud.

"Can I be the ghost? Please!" Sora pleaded.

"Fine. I'll be the distraction. You have ten seconds. Go!" Tron commanded as he rushed into the throng of Heartless.

"Going ghost!" Sora chanted as he dissolved into data.

Reassembled in the control room, he gave a thumbs up and the widest grin.


	19. Lies

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor Disney. I merely write, not own.

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Riku  
**Time:** KH (spoilers)  
**Topic:** Lies  
**Words: **105

* * *

Riku was tired, but he remained restless. He hated Maleficent transporting him around the galaxy to merely watch Sora play hero once again.

So when Maleficent told him this was to be his new home, this decrepit castle filled with musty passageways, he hardly was relieved.

But the spirit of adventure never leaves a boy, and so Riku began exploring.

He came across a few scraps of paper rambling about "experiments." Maleficent had said that she was the ruler of the Heartless, but these papers told otherwise.

As he set the papers down, regarding them as mere ramblings, a voice echoed hauntingly, "Lies."


	20. Absent

**Disclaimer:** I don't own KH, Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, or that log…

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Winnie the Pooh Bear  
**Time:** KH**  
Topic:** Absent**  
Word Count:** 100

* * *

It wasn't like him to be missing. He had always been there, which made his sudden disappearance all the more confusing.  
But worrying and pondering can only console so much, and with these having failed, it was time for something new.

Something different, that didn't require too much thinking. Something like eating.  
Something scrumdidlyumptious…

"Honey. Perhaps a small smackeral," Pooh said aloud to no one particular.

And with his mind finally made up, Pooh left the log he had been sitting on waiting for Christopher Robin.

"Perhaps he'll be back tomorrow," Pooh hoped as he too left the meeting spot.


	21. Whine

**Disclaimer:** Even after about a six year hiatus, I still don't own anything with KH or KH2.  
**  
Rating:** G  
**Character:** Ariel  
**Time:** KH  
**Topic:** Whine  
**Word Count:** 99

_Why does everyone always have to be so demanding? Why can't I ever just have time to myself?_

Ariel darted back to her bedroom after yet another argument with her father.

_He just can't understand me. He never will._

She swam over to the row of mirrors. All of her sisters were out.

_Now who I am supposed to complain to?_

She sighed in mock frustration and settled down on her clamshell seat. She looked at her vibrant red hair floating gently.

Ariel cracked a small smile, then abruptly went back to pouting.

_I look better when I'm whining._


	22. Leaves

**Disclaimer:** None of it's mine :P

**Rating:** G  
**Character:** Assorted  
**Time:** (pre)KH and KH2  
**Topic:** Leaves  
**Word Count:** 111

_Strange thing about Nature… it always seems to be one step ahead of the rest of us…_

It was the leaves giving way to the fragrant, pink blossoms that allowed Mulan to finally find her inner beauty, her inner strength.

It was the blowing of the leaves in the fortuitous mixture that allowed Simba to reign as king.

It was the leaves that never wilted from the magic rose that gave Beast hope.

And from the leaves of the palm trees came the papou fruit, which connected friends to their epic destiny.

_Leaves are so fragile, so easily forgotten. And yet, without them, there is no life, no hope, no energy…_

* * *

Sometimes we all just need to (try to) be a little more pensive


End file.
